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If the Heroine Wants My Fiancé, I’ll Marry a Yandere Villain Instead!, Vol. 2

By Kobako Takara and Jun Natsuba. Released in Japan as “Heroine ni Konyakusha wo Torareru Mitai node, Akuyaki Reisoku (Yandere Character) wo Neraimasu” by B’s-Log Bunko. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Emma Schumacker. One of the problems that a lot of fiction has, be it in English or Japanese, is the trouble with sequels. In North America it feels like you can’t sell a fantasy series these days without it being a trilogy of some sort. Japanese books are frequently contest winners, which means they’re self-contained in one volume, but if they do well then more volumes are always around the corner. And sometimes a series just doesn’t need to be ongoing. This is the trouble I’m running into with the second volume of Yandere…

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Goodbye, Horrible Fiancé, Hello, Fun Magic School Life!, Vol. 1

By Mashimesa Emoto and Nitou Akane. Released in Japan as “Konyakusha wo Sutetara, Tanoshii Mahou Gakkou no Seikatsu ga Matteimashita” by GC Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by piyo. Now that we have a glut in the market when it comes to broken engagement light novels, it can be hard to really sell one to readers as a reviewer. I enjoyed this book, it has a likeable lead, some fun scenes, good support. It does not really, however, have that one thing that makes it stand out of the pack from other books with this exact premise. There’s no quirk, no eccentricity that made the publisher go “wow!”. The publisher put this out as the author has a proven track record (Expedition Cooking with the…

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Manga the Week of 3/11/26

SEAN: Please help us, manga. You’re our only hope. ASH: It does seem like that sometimes. ANNA: Some form of hope is needed! SEAN: Yen On has another huge clump of books. Casebook of Kurumi Tokisaki, Magic Detective (Majutsu Tantei Tokisaki Kurumi no Jikenbo) is a spinoff of Date a Live, showing one of its most popular characters solving crimes. Legend of the Far East’s Savior (Kyokutou Kyuuseishu Densetsu) is a sci-fi mecha anime except that it’s actually a light novel. Demons were summoned during World War II, and they now rule the world. A hundred years later, a boy with memories of a different Japan fights back using giant robots. ASH: Mecha novels can actually be pretty good, in my experience. ANNA: I’m a little curious! SEAN: Lycoris Recoil:…

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Strawberry Princess: The Time Loop Defying Villainess

By Hanami Nishine and Renta. Released in Japan as “Shiitagerareta Maihime wa Seijo no Loop ni Ichigo de Aragau” on the Shousetsuka ni Narou website. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Zihan Gao. Now that we have so many of them, to the point where protagonists are actually familiar with the genre, I think it’s appropriate to say that some people are getting a little too into the “trapped in an otome game” mindset. Admittedly, in this particular case it appears to be a coping mechanism to try to ignore the main character’s wretched life to date, but still, a lot of things happen here because Amelia, the titular princess, is stuck in “there’s nothing I can do to stop this route from happening, so I’ll…

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Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 9

By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun. Natsuki’s do-over has been going pretty well. He’s got friends, he’s slimmed down and folks think he is handsome, he is able to hold conversations and help others – sometimes to a ridiculous shonen degree – and he has a girlfriend, and their relationship is sugary sweet (what little of it we see in this volume). So it makes sense that it’s time to move on to the next generation of socially inept malcontents, and that means Saya, the first-year who knew him in middle-school and is trying to achieve the same thing he did. Unfortunately, she’s blunt to the point…

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My Girlfriend Cheated on Me, and Now My Flirty Underclassman Won’t Leave Me Alone!, Vol. 1

By Yu Omiya and Ale. Released in Japan as “Kanojo ni Uwakisareteita Ore ga, Koakuma na Kouhai ni Natsukareteimasu” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Benjamin Daughety. Adapted by RFD. I try not to carp too much about a book that fulfills all its goals and doesn’t really do much wrong, even if I personally was not entertained. I picked this up because it promised to be about college kids rather than the usual “second year of high school” start we tend to get in romcoms. Indeed, everyone in this is in college. There are drinking parties. The main character is not a virgin. (Well, according to him, but given the plot of this book, I’m not sure I trust his word.) The flirty…

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The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 7

By Bakufu Narayama and Ebisushi. Released in Japan as “Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijō wa, Gyakkō-shite Kanpekina Akujo o Mezasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Alyssa Niioka. Adapted by Vida Cruz-Borja. Please note that spoilers are far more unavoidable than usual this volume. If you want to remain unspoiled, please try to read the review after the book. I’ll stick the cover art here to hopefully mask it. So, let’s talk about the Unreliable Narrator. Starting off by spoiling a 100-year-old book for you, the most famous example is probably Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It upset a lot of people when it came out, and folks who were especially invested in trying to figure out the mystery, rather than reading it as a…

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An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 12

By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara. Given that the bulk of this series is our two main leads flirting hard with each other, deliberately or no, it makes sense that this is also what’s going on with the author. Oh, sure, the start of the series was different. We had the push and pull of “when will they discover they both know and admit their feelings”. But ever since they got together as a real couple, the books have been the author as Lucy, holding a football, saying, “I bet this is the one…

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One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future, Vol. 2

By fukurou and johndee. Released in Japan as “Jiji Baba Yuusha Party Saigo no Tabi: Oita Saikyou wa Iroasenu Mama Mirai e Susumu you desu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Vasileios Mousikidis. I do enjoy some good foreshadowing. It’s the kind where you know this is going to be important later, and think “ah yes, the author is doing that deliberately”, but also not enough so that’s it’s constantly on your mind. By the time we get to the big reveal in this volume, I remembered the ominous mentor guy, as well as the terrible country that sat out the war because they were simply too terrible, but I was distracted by the main plot of the first half, which is the same…

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